Casey Jones

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In the original Mirage series, Casey first appeared in the Raphael one-shot, by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Casey was introduced as a violent, hot-tempered vigilante whose anger concerned even Raphael. The turtle stopped Casey from killing some muggers, causing an initial conflict between the two. This clash was quickly resolved, and Casey and Raphael became fast friends. Later, Casey came to the turtles' aid when they are attacked by the Shredder in April O'Neil's home. The vigilante even took the turtles to his grandmother's old farmhouse in Northampton, cementing his place with the group. In the Mirage series, Casey is extremely violent, even more so than Raphael, but he mellows throughout the course of the series. In Shades of Gray, Casey accidentally kills a teenager who tried to mug him. The incident sent him into a drunken spiral, damaging his relationship with April O'Neil. During the three-part episode City at War, Casey leaves the farmhouse and begins to drive to Los Angeles, planning to find April, but instead meets a pregnant woman named Gabrielle with whom he falls in love and marries. Gabrielle dies during childbirth and Casey is left to take care of her daughter, whom he names Shadow. After spreading Gabrielle's ashes, Casey returns to New York with Shadow to stay with his mother. In a chance encounter, Casey is reunited with April when she comes to buy the apartment building owned by Casey's mother. During this meeting it is revealed that Casey's real name is Arnold but prefers to use his middle name only. Casey repairs his relationship with April and they begin dating. By volume four, he and April are married, raising Shadow as their daughter and trying to have a child of their own. April eventually leaves Casey and Shadow when April learns that she is a living drawing that was brought to life by a magic crystal. As April comes to terms with herself in Alaska, Casey takes to the nightclubs to drown his sorrows. He meets up with the Foot Clan leader Karai at one of these clubs and, after a few drinks, awakens at Karai's retreat with no memory of the night before, although Karai knows something of what had happened. This plotline was left unresolved as the fourth volume ended.

In Their Own Story

In the IDW Comics series, Casey is a young college scholarship holder. Following his mother's death from cancer, his father, formerly Hun of the Purple Dragons, became an alcoholic thug who would vent his daily frustration on his son. On one such occasion, Casey is saved from another violent beating by Raphael, who at this time is living a solitary life as a street vagrant unaware that he has a family searching for him. The two quickly become fast friends and fellow vigilantes until Raphael is reunited with his family, at which point Casey meets and befriends the other three turtles as well. He later meets April when she becomes his tutor, and introduces her to the turtles. After an especially violent beating by his father, Casey comes to live with the turtles, while his father returns to the Purple Dragons.

Reader's Guide

Casey Jones has been featured in various adaptations. In the 1987 television series, voiced by Pat Fraley, he is a crazed vigilante with a Dirty Harry-like persona, who goes after all sorts of criminals, from robbers to litterers. He never takes off his mask on screen, even when once going undercover in a business suit. In the 2003 series, voiced by Marc Thompson, he displays a vendetta against the Purple Dragon gang, who killed his father. Additionally, Casey and the Turtles met when they were children, with the latter having been disguised as humans. In the 2012 series, voiced by Josh Peck, he is initially a hockey player who April O'Neil tutors in school. He later becomes a vigilante and ally to the Turtles, specifically Raphael, who becomes his best friend. An original, female incarnation of Casey Jones named Cassandra Jones appears in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018), voiced by Zelda Williams. This version is a member of the Foot Clan. Additionally, Casey Jones himself appears in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, voiced by Haley Joel Osment. This version is Cassandra's son from the year 2044. In film, Casey Jones appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), portrayed by Elias Koteas, as a former professional ice hockey player who became a vigilante after sustaining a career-ending injury. He appears again in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), portrayed again by Elias Koteas. In TMNT (2007), voiced by Chris Evans, he is in a relationship with April O'Neil and works for her shipping company as a delivery man. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016), portrayed by Stephen Amell, he is a hot-headed prison guard and aspiring detective. In video games, Casey Jones appears as a playable character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (1993), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up (2009), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (2022), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate (2023) via the "Junkyard Jam" DLC.

Did You Know?

• Casey Jones was created as a parody of vigilante characters that were popular in comics at the time.
• In the Mirage series, Casey's real name is Arnold but he prefers to use his middle name only.
• Casey first appeared in the one-shot Raphael: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (April 1985).
• In the 1987 series, Casey never takes off his mask on screen, even when once going undercover in a business suit.
• In the IDW Comics, Casey's father was formerly Hun of the Purple Dragons.